Suspicion of conflicts of interest: the Minister of Justice Éric Dupond-Moretti indicted

Eric Dupont-Moretti, Keeper of the Seals.

FRANCOIS GUILLOT / AFP

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The Keeper of the Seals Éric Dupond-Moretti was indicted this Friday, July 16 for illegal taking of interests by the magistrates of the Court of Justice of the Republic.

This indictment is unprecedented for a sitting Minister of Justice.

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“ 

Unsurprisingly, he was indicted,

 ” one of the minister's lawyers, Me Christophe Ingrain, told reporters after an interrogation lasting nearly six hours.

“His explanations were unfortunately not enough to reverse this decision taken before the hearing.

We will obviously now contest this indictment, ”he continued.

Me Ingrain will file " 

a motion for nullity

 ".

In this case,

Eric Dupond-Moretti

is suspected of having taken advantage of his function as minister to settle accounts with magistrates with whom he had trouble leaving when he was a lawyer, which he refutes.

The Court of Justice of the Republic (CJR), the only jurisdiction empowered to prosecute and judge members of the government for offenses within the framework of their functions, opened in January a judicial investigation for "illegal taking of interests" after the complaints from the three magistrates' unions and the Anticor association denouncing situations of conflict of interest in two cases.

What future for the Ministry of Justice?

The first concerns the administrative investigation ordered in September by the Minister of Justice against three magistrates of the National Financial Prosecutor's Office (PNF) who had his detailed telephone records ("fadettes") scrutinized when he was still a star in the courtroom.

In the second case, the Minister of Justice is accused of having instituted administrative proceedings against a former investigating judge seconded to Monaco, Édouard Levrault, who had indicted one of his ex-clients and whose actions he criticized. "cowboy" methods after this magistrate spoke in a report.

Does this indictment jeopardize the future of Eric Dupond-Moretti at the head of this royal ministry?

Emmanuel Macron, who defended it at length on Tuesday in the Council of Ministers, spoke on the subject Thursday on the sidelines of the Tour de France.

I think that the Keeper of the Seals has the same rights as all litigants, that is to say that of the presumption of innocence, to be able to defend the rights which are his

 ", he said, posing as a “ 

guarantor of the independence of justice

 ”.

(

With

AFP)

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